Tony Hayward’s determination to cut the “fat” from BP came back to haunt the company’s former chief executive yesterday as he faced questioning over the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Lawyers representing victims of the disaster showed a New Orleans court an interview conducted with Mr Hayward in 2011 as they sought to build their case against BP.

Mr Hayward was the head of BP when the Deepwater Horizon exploded three years ago, killing 11 rig workers and causing the worst oil spill in American history. He became a hate figure in the United States after appearing unsympathetic during the crisis, commenting